Kirkus Reviews is out today with its list of the fifteen Best Mysteries of 2010. I was stunned to learn that The Poacher's Son was one of the reviewers picks. When you consider that hundreds of mysteries were published this year—many by authors who are truly masters of the form—well, all I can say is that being selected is a pretty overwhelming honor. Here's the fine fifteen:

Nowhere to Run by CJ Box

The Brick Layer by Noah Boyd

The Glass Rainbow by James Lee Burke

Worth Dying For by Lee Child

Edge by Jeffery Deaver

The Poacher's Son by Paul Doiron

The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths

The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths

The Hanging Tree by Bryan Gruley

Crystal Death by Charles Kipps

The Charming Quirks of Others by Alexander McCall Smith

Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny

Still Missing by Chevy Stevens

Gone 'Til November by Wallace Stroby

The Taken by Inger Ash Wolfe

As an author, I'm delighted to be in such distinguished company. As a reader, I'm excited to have some intriguing new books to add to my Christmas list.

Update on 2010-12-15 02:05 by Paul Doiron

I want to offer my congratulations to my publishers, Minotaur Books, who publish four novelists on the list — CJ Box, Louise Penny, Wallace Stroby, and myself. (St. Martin's Press, of which Minotaur is an imprint, also publishes Chevy Stevens.) And kudos to my agent, Ann Rittenberg, who represents the two game warden aficionados (CJ Box and myself).